Reflections on the Kingdom of God - As Experienced in the Local Parish

The V. Rev. Archpriest Joseph Antypas of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Troy, Michigan, has released the bookReflections on The Kingdom of God, as Experienced in the Local Parish. Fr. Joseph has been a faculty member in the Antiochian House of Studies, and a mentor at St. Stephen Course of Theological Studies.

Reflections consists of four chapters dealing with theological and pastoral topics as follows: 1) Emulating Christ's Life of the Kingdom, 2) A time to build our souls and bodies, 3) the modes of Christian being and 4) sharing the glory of the Kingdom. Each chapter is broken down into short, focused articles, making it easy to pick up in spare moments.

In his book, Father Joseph presents a reflective and deep style and discusses the Orthodox view of the Kingdom of God in two-dimensional directions, theological and pastoral aspects. Fr. Joseph stresses the fact that theology should be pastoral and therefore the theological understanding of the kingdom of God must lead us to practice and live this kingdom on Earth and the light of this kingdom in all aspects of our lives.

The kingdom of God is the end by itself and achieving it is our goal. Every other aspect of the Orthodox spirituality are means that must lead to this end; if we ignore this end (the kingdom of God) and focus only on the means then we become “hostages to forms and appearances.”